National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2008

The Division III Presidents Council, meeting January 12 in Nashville, began considering a multitiered structure of more stringent penalties for violations of legislation discovered through the division's financial aid reporting process.

The Division III Financial Aid Committee reported on options for moving beyond the educationally oriented penalties that have been imposed for violations discovered during the first three years of the reporting process. The committee suggested a framework for penalties that could trigger a comprehensive compliance assessment of an athletics program following a first violation, followed by a public reprimand after the second violation, followed by a loss of championship access after a third violation

The committee also advised that any action provided for in the progression of penalties could be taken at any time in response to an egregious violation.

The Council agreed to formally consider the committee's recommendations at its spring meeting.

In a review of proposed legislation slated for voting January 14 at the NCAA Convention, theCouncil also agreed to oppose an amendment-to-amendment on Proposal No. 10 to permit third- and fourth-year provisional members to be counted by a league toward the seven-institution requirement for earning automatic qualification to a Division III championship. The Council also opposes the basic proposal, which would permit any provisional member to be counted for automatic qualification.

The Council also addressed concerns it has heard from the membership about how to apply a proposal to require at least one person certified in first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to be physically present at athletics activities.

Council members amended an interpretation of the proposal to indicate that an individual can meet the "physically present" requirement by being on site and responsible for ensuring the safety of student-athletes, and also approved a modification of wording based on intent limiting the application of the requirement to "scheduled team activities."